The present disclosure is directed generally to electromagnetic switches.
Electromagnetic switches are employed in modern electronic test equipment such as digital signal oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, data analyzers, and vector analyzers, for example. Modern electronic test equipment, such as microwave signal analyzers, operate at broadband frequencies from direct current (DC) up into the gigahertz (GHz) range. Such broadband electronic test equipment requires multi-mode switching devices to direct microwave (e.g., millimeter wave) signals with minimum loss, to attenuate incoming signals hundreds of times below their original power level before processing, and to interrupt input signals with minimum crosstalk during system calibration cycles. Each of these tasks requires a complex setup of switching devices. Accordingly, there is a need for an electromagnetic switch that may be actuated in various modes to satisfy complex switching functions.